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New large sea lock

A new large sea lock is being constructed at the entrance of the North Sea Canal at IJmuiden that will provide access to the Amsterdam port region.

The new lock will be 500 metres long, 70 metres wide and 18 metres deep, making it the world’s largest sea lock. Construction began in January 2016 and the new lock will be available for shipping at the end of 2019. From then on, the port of Amsterdam will be accessible 24 hours a day.

Project updates

The new control building (no. 1 in the picture) is slowly beginning to take shape by now. The lock gate chambers (no. 2 in the picture) are also gaining in height. Also continuing this month are the concreting and anchoring operations of the lock...

The construction of the temporary flood barrier – which serves to keep the hinterland dry during storms – will continue this month. The old water barrier is simultaneously being excavated. The walls of the gate chambers are being erected inside the...

This month, work will continue on the construction of the gate chambers. The floors are nearly completed and construction of the walls is starting now. Construction work in the other cofferdams continues as normal. Gantry-like structures, onto which...

Concrete pouring operations for the floors of the lock gate recesses continue throughout this month and the installation of reinforcement steel for the walls also continues. The last diaphragm walls for the lock chamber are currently being placed...

Everybody knows that the construction of the IJmuiden New Sea Lock is now well underway. But what not many people know is that the operating and control systems of the existing locks at IJmuiden and Schellingwoude, and those of the pumping and...

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Construction jargon

Reports on the construction of the New Sea Lock often use a number of technical terms, raising questions such as: What exactly is a sheet pile wall and what is a combi wall?
What is meant by the diaphragm method and the caisson method? What do these things look like?
We have listed the most used terms in a glossary with explanations and visual material.

Scheduled activities and obstructions

Some activities and obstructions have been scheduled in connection with the construction of the New Sea Lock. There are also scheduled activities and obstructions in connection with regular maintenance work to the North Lock and Middle Lock. An overview of the scheduled activities and obstructions of the North Lock and Middle Lock is given below.

Read more...

Activities and obstructions in connection with the construction of the New Sea Lock

Direct contact with our expert

Andre Mulder

Images of the new sea lock

Read more about the new sea lock

Who is carrying out the work?

Commissioned by Rijkswaterstaat (Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management), the new sea lock in IJmuiden will be built by the OpenIJ consortium of contractors during the next few years. The project is a collaborative venture of the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Province of North Holland, the Municipality of Amsterdam, the Port of Amsterdam, and the Municipality of Velsen. The project is co-financed by the European Union’s TEN-T programme.

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The world’s largest sea lock at IJmuiden provides access to the Amsterdam port area. Construction works will be carried out at the lock complex for the duration of the construction period. The parties involved in the construction of the new sea lock will do everything possible to ensure that shipping traffic can pass smoothly and safely.

Schedule
1st half of 2016
Preparatory work including removal of the South Lock Island
Mid-2016
Re-routing of the inner approach channel to the Middle Lock & start of the construction of the new sea lock
2017
Contours of the new sea lock will become visible
Mid-2018
The gates of the new sea lock will be manoeuvred into place
End of 2018
Start testing of the new sea lock
2019
The new sea lock will be put into operational service
The completion of the new sea lock for shipping is scheduled for the end of 2019. The first ships may probably start to pass through the new sea lock during the operational test phase.

Why a new sea lock?

The North Lock will reach the end of its technical service life in 2029 and has become too small for today’s ever-larger seagoing vessels.

The New Sea Lock is tide-independent and can be used 24/7.

A new large sea lock allows new-generation larger vessels to pass through the North Sea Canal smoothly and safely.

With a larger lock, the port has the possibility to grow from today’s 90 million tons to 125 million tons of goods handled per year.